Pre-UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue: Transforming Food Systems for the Delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals

Pre-UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue:

Transforming Food Systems for the Delivery of the
Sustainable Development Goals

Statement by

Dr QUDongyu, FAO Director-General

As prepared

1 July 2021

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 targets eradicating hunger, and malnutrition, by ensuring access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food for all, and to end all forms of malnutrition.

2. Africa is not on track to meet SDG 2!

3. The gradual deterioration of food security on the African continent has been caused by various, often converging, challenges.

4. They include conflicts, weather extremes and economic slowdowns, and recently fall-out from the
COVID-19 pandemic.

5. A continued worsening of the situation is expected during the course of 2021, as measures to contain the pandemic are further impeding the recovery of food security and food markets.

6. In 2020, FAO conducted surveys in over 24 countries of the region.

7. They highlighted that the containment measures are causing a constrained demand on agri-food markets leading to reduced income.  

8. Young people are more vulnerable than adults to the impact of disruptions caused by the pandemic.

9. The majority of the working youth are poor and employed in low quality jobs in the informal sector, with youth unemployment in rural areas remaining critical.

10. Although precarious, agriculture in the region provides employment to 60% of people between the ages of 15 and 34 years.

11. This is a clear indication that young people must be at the center of any strategy for ‘building back better” and transforming our current agri-food systems. 

12. Demographic trends show that 10 to 12 million new jobs need to be created annually over the next 20 years to employ new labour market entrants.

13. The agri-food systems need to play their part in generating decent employment for the youth.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

14. Despite disruptions, agri-food systems in the Africa region continue to evolve.

15. For instance, the rapid rate of urbanization is driving the emergence of many small secondary cities across Africa.

16. This trend is reshaping farmers’ and agri-food enterprises’ access to markets, as it is extending value chains into previously hard-to-reach areas.   

17. Also, while agriculture accounts for about one fifth of GDP in African countries, the food economy is even larger. 

18. Recent data shows that:

• agricultural production contributes 24% of GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa;
• small and medium sized agri-enterprises contribute another 20% of GDP; and
• this is in addition to the 10% contribution from the region’s exports.

19. Overall, Africa’s agri-food sector is estimated to evolve into a trillion-dollar market by 2030.

20. These trends provide a scenario that is ripe for innovation and investment in national and regional agri-food systems,

21. which foresees the supply of sustainably-produced, nutritious and affordable healthy agri-food products to local, regional and international consumers. 

 

Dear Colleagues,

22. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement will play a significant role in furthering these trends and opportunities,

23. as well as the task of transforming our agri-food systems to make them MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable.

24. These trends also highlight the need for a systems approach with integrated policy frameworks from the public, private and civil society sectors. 

25. Leveraging expertise from a wide range of disciplines, including:

• trade, production and finance;
• health, environment and food safety; as well as
• urban planning and digitalization.    

26. This cross-disciplinary approach has implications for the role Universities need to play in agri-food systems transformation;

27. How they design and run courses and research related to the agri-food sector so that young people obtain the skills and knowledge required by both the private and the public sectors.        

28. Universities can reach out to multiple initiatives across the continent, such as: 

• The NEPAD Rural Futures Programme;
• The African Agribusiness Incubation Network; or
• The FAO-AUC Youth in Agri-Food Systems Investment Guidelines.

29. Digitalization is also rapidly becoming a game changer in agriculture - boosting productivity, profitability and resilience to climate change.

30. It could drive greater engagement from youth, and women, and create employment opportunities across the agri-food systems.

31. Despite some growth in digitalization over the last ten years, progress has been slow in serving the smallholders and agri-food enterprises that produce 80% of Africa’s agricultural output.

 

Dear Colleagues,

32. To leverage the potential of Information and Communications Technology (ICT), universities can also harness FAO’s work on de-risking agri-food systems through digitalization,

33. They can do this by engaging with a wide range of solutions, including geospatial tools. 

34. FAO’s Hand-in-Hand initiative can also support universities in the region with targeted rural development initiatives that address issues such as:

• ecosystem restoration,
• forestry,
• biodiversity,
• reduction of Green-House Gas emissions, and
• soils and water management.

35. Beyond digitalization, universities in Africa need to be at the cutting edge of all disciplines linked to the transformation of agri-food systems by:  

• engaging in innovative research that brings together the concerns of the public sector with the needs of the private sector; and
• providing training to ensure that young people entering the job market are equipped to lead
  agri-food systems development from a wide range of disciplines and expertise. 

36. Ultimately, science and research need to underpin all cross-sectoral conversations on the sustainable transformation of agri-food systems.

37. Because everybody has a part to play in achieving the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, in Africa and beyond, leaving no one behind!

38. Thank you.